Don't let it get away!

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) is down after a second day of worse-than-expected reports on the housing market. As of 1:15 p.m. EDT the Dow is down 53 points, or 0.36%, to 14,507. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) is down 0.31%.

There was just one U.S. economic release today.

Report

Period

Actual

Previous

Pending home sales

February

(0.4%)

3.8%

Source: MarketWatch U.S. Economic Calendar.

Yesterday it was reported that new-home sales decreased in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 411,000. Today there was more negative news on the housing front when the National Association of Realtors revised its January pending-home-sales index downward and reported a decline of 0.4% in February.

While home prices rose in January, up 8.1% for the year, some economists are worried about the housing market. Professor Robert Shiller -- of Case-Shiller Home Price Index fame -- said yesterday in an interview with CNBC, "One thing that makes it very hard to forecast home prices right now is that we're living in a totally artificial real-estate economy." Shiller was referring to the continued long-term asset purchases by the Federal Reserve and the Fed's efforts to keep the Federal Funds rate between 0% and 0.25%. He concluded: "All of these things are weighing on the futures of housing. One thing you learn from history is that bubbles can occur at any time."

Today's Dow leaderToday's Dow leader is UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) , up 1.7%. The health care sector is up as a whole today. UnitedHealth has risen nearly 5% this month and 3% just this week. The company is in the unique position of both offering insurance and building the federally operated health-insurance exchange. As Obamacare comes into full effect, UnitedHealth should benefit as more Americans gain access to health care. While UnitedHealth is today's top Dow stock, one Fool analyst thinks health care investors should focus on the company he calls "the investor's best health care stock in the Dow."

Second for the Dow today is Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) , up 0.8%. Intel shares are up 6.53% this year and up nearly 4% this week as the chip maker works to become a major force in the mobile-chip market. Intel has joined with Samsung to build a new operating system for mobile called Tizen to challenge Android and iOS' dominance of the mobile-OS market. At the end of 2012, Android had a 68% market share, while iOS followed up with a 19% market share. Intel and Samsung hope to disrupt Android in Asia, where Android's Web-application backbone is not the preferred option among telecoms. If the effort is successful, Intel and Samsung will have a significant advantage in some of the world's largest telecom markets. While investors wait to see what will happen with Tizen, they can collect a 4.2% dividend from Intel -- a high enough income for Intel to be included in the 2013 Dogs of the Dow.

When it comes to dominating markets, it doesn't get much better than Intel's position in the PC microprocessor arena. However, that market is maturing, and Intel must find new avenues for growth. In this premium research report on Intel, our analyst runs through all of the key topics investors should understand about the chip giant. Click here now to learn more.

Third for the Dow today is ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) , up 0.3%. The company is rising along with international oil prices, which are up 0.13% to $109.37 per barrel. U.S. natural gas is up 2% today to $4.09 per MMBtu, while the price of oil in the U.S. is down 0.2% to $96.03 per barrel. Fool analyst Matthew DiLallo recently took a look at ExxonMobil's operations around the world.

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Dan Dzombak has written for The Motley Fool since 2008. He covers value investing, investing process, and success among other things. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter by clicking the buttons below or head over to his blog at http://www.DanDzombak.com